What you will learn
You can join a description to a noun with som, as in en vän som bor i Lund.
Who, which and that
| Swedish | English |
|---|---|
| Jag har en vän som bor i Lund. | I have a friend who lives in Lund. |
| Kvinnan som jobbar på kaféet heter Greta. | The woman who works at the café is called Greta. |
| Pojken som sitter där är min kusin. | The boy who is sitting there is my cousin. |
| Det är en film som alla gillar. | It is a film that everyone likes. |
| Boken som jag läser är spännande. | The book that I am reading is exciting. |
Som is the same for people and things, so it means who, which and that. The part with som comes right after the noun it describes. After it, the main sentence goes on, as in Kvinnan som jobbar på kaféet heter Greta.
Two sentences in one
| Two sentences | One sentence |
|---|---|
| Jag har en kusin. Hon bor i Osaka. | Jag har en kusin som bor i Osaka. |
| Vi åt en tårta. Den var god. | Tårtan som vi åt var god. |
Som takes the place of hon or den. Do not keep both.
Word order after som
Inside the som part, the words come in the usual order, the subject and then the verb, as in som jag läser.
When som is the one who does something, as in en vän som bor i Lund, you must say it. When someone else does it, as in boken som jag läser, you can also leave som out, boken jag läser. In this course a som part never has inte or ofta inside it. That word order comes at a later level.
Common mistakes
| Not like this | Like this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Jag har en vän vem bor i Lund. | Jag har en vän som bor i Lund. | Vem asks a question. Use som to join a description. |
| Flickan som har glasögon hon heter Lea. | Flickan som har glasögon heter Lea. | Som already points to flickan, so there is no extra hon. |
| Boken som läser jag är spännande. | Boken som jag läser är spännande. | Inside the som part, the subject comes before the verb. |